Enlightenment Day of Avalokiteshvara

The world has been suffering from the pandemic, climate change, loss of jobs, natural disasters and civil war. If you are reading this, it shows that you are in a much better position than most people in the world right now. 

Our core practice of Cintamani Tantra is based on the emulation of Avalokiteshvara, The Bodhisattva of Great Compassion. We have learnt and supported one another to live in such a way that we embody the energies of mindfulness, wisdom of Interbeing, loving-kindness, and compassion. 

This coming Wednesday is the 19th day of the 6th Lunar month, the Enlightenment Day of Avalokiteshvara (Guan Yin). 

For centuries, this is an important day to meditate on the teachings of Guanyin and her great Bodhisattva aspiration to relieve all beings from suffering. 

The Bodhisattva path is not just about reading the scriptures, but embodying the practice in our day-to-day life, especially how we relate to ourselves and others. 

With this, our community at The Hermitage Zen would like to invite you to commemorate this special occasion with us as we take a deeper look into our practice by renewing our Bodhisattva aspirations through the reflection of the teachings on emptiness, compassion and right attention of the Bodhisattvas.  

The Hermitage Zen is built on a compassion-based business model and we empathise that many people are suffering from loss of physical freedom and finances. We, too, have been impacted by this pandemic. 

However, the teachings have pointed out that true freedom is within our hearts and not obstructed by our physical conditions. Adding to that, abundance is not measured by what we can acquire, but the recognition that as human beings, we always have the ability to offer something beautiful to others. 

In this light, we are offering this session as a gift to you, just like our recent online retreat.

90% of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Plum Village in France to support the daily needs of the monastics who are practising to bring healing and mindful-wisdom to the world. 

This is a rare opportunity for you to connect with our closed-group of meditators who have been practising together for years. Although we come from diverse backgrounds and status in society, whenever we strip ourselves of those titles and connect to our true being, we are reminded that we simply belong to one race - the human race. As a community, we share, nurture and practice together for the betterment of our society and future generations. 

We understand that you may not be free to join us for this session. However, if you have read this message to this point, we are confident that you have been inspired by our way of being and will continue to spread the seeds of love, fearlessness and mindfulness in your own unique way. For this, we are grateful that you are alive and healthy. 

Namo Sigato,

Dhammakamo 'DK'